Angola

Once a part of the vast Kingdom of Kongo, Angola was discovered by the Portuguese who began trade with them in the 1400’s. In the 1900’s Angola became an official Portuguese colony, although most foreign influence was only along the coast. In modern times, Communism greatly influenced the country supporting the struggle for freedom with equipment from Russia and troops from Cuba. (The country’s flag still bears witness to the influence Communism held in this nation’s formation.) Independence was long in coming for this nation, being the result of a twelve-year war. When Angola finally received its independence in 1975, it declared itself a Communist state. The blessing of peace was not to be, however. A civil war followed independence and lasted until 2002 claiming an estimated one-and-a-half million lives. Although Angola is nearly twice the size of Texas, it shares a great portion of the Namib desert in the south. The country is sparsely populated with less than thirty-five million citizens. Interestingly, this nation also possesses an enclave in the DRC. Portuguese is the official language, and Umbundu is the most-spoken African language there. Although Angola is growing rapidly as a presidential republic, assisted by the commerce that a vast supply of oil brings, the country is still greatly in need. The average life expectancy for an Angolan is a little over sixty years, and many are passing into eternity unprepared. A new generation is growing rapidly: nearly fifty percent are under the age of fifteen and nearly twenty percent more are under the age of twenty-five. Catholicism is the main religion, although pseudo-Christianity also claims a large number. Perhaps due to nearly four decades of war, 12% claim no religion at all. May God send missionaries to this country to give peace to the old generation and hope to the new!

Missionaries in Angola:

Missionaries in Africa (listed with BIMI account numbers)